


A Dozen Sets of Colors

by MalevolentCosmicEntity



Series: Marvelous Pirate Adventures [1]
Category: Daredevil (Comics), Immortal Iron Fist, Marvel, Punisher (Comics), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Gen, Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-26 20:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentCosmicEntity/pseuds/MalevolentCosmicEntity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which I begin a Pirate AU for Marvel Comics partly inspired by One Piece (not much in this chapter, that may change). This chapter introduces the crew of the Gutter Rat, a bunch of scrappy underdog types.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Dozen Sets of Colors

 

There's a careful balance you have to strike when you run a bar down by the docks. On the one hand, you have to keep costs low, so you can't carry good booze. On the other hand, your clientele are either pirates or people who might as well be pirates, so if you serve swill, you'll get killed. At least they're too tough to complain about sanitation. So you keep the drinks coming, avoid talking, and make noncommittal noises when the toasts start. That keeps the ruckus under control.

Of course, they're pirates. The fights are inevitable. Like the big bastard at the far end of the bar who's about to get killed over there. The one trying to push around the crew of the _Gutter Rat_.

“—and _I_ say you're a damn liar! There's no way that skinny twerp is the son of Jack Murdock! Battlin' Jack was the biggest, meanest pirate captain on the Grey Sea. I saw 'im punch a Navy Captain in the chest, just once, then he walked away. The Navy man stood there, lookin' confused, and when 'e opened 'is mouth to say somethin'? All the blood in 'is body came bubblin' out. Any son of Battlin' Jack would 'ave arms bigger than that kid's whole body.”

It's the blonde he's yelling at, the one they say was raised way off in the Green. He's small, too, but not quite as small as young Murdock. He's got a reputation for being friendly; he's all but joined at the hip to the big fellow from Cage on their crew and he's the main squeeze of the dark lady from who knows where. At the same time, he's also the one with a temper.

“Oh, he's his father's son. He fights like he's got nothing to lose and he never stays down. Battlin' Jack would be proud of his boy.”

Young Murdock's been ignoring this whole affair, but now the big bastard goes and does something stupid; he steps around the blonde and pours his drink down Murdock's back.

“If Battlin' Jack really was your father, 'e'd be ashamed to know you're a weakling shit who's part of a weakling shit crew. You're all gonna—”

The blonde's punch sounds like a pistol being fired and the big fellow is damn near folded in half at the other end of the bar from where he was standing. His friends have finally come over and they're hauling him to his feet. Since he can't speak, one of the others picks up the task of saying suicidal things.

“You don't know the trouble you're in! We're crew on _The Sandman_ ; we're part of the Fleet Sinister! Each ship has over a hundred men and there are less than twenty of you!”

Murdock finally turns around to face the new idiot. Murdock can't look anyone in the eyes, thanks to that red bandanna he always wears, but the tilt of his head says things clearly enough. His grin is the wide, genuine smile of a man enjoying all the finest things in life.

“Then you should all attack us at once. Maybe see if you can get the Navy on your side. We're Gutter Rats; winning fights is pretty much all we know how to do. See you out there.”

Nothing else that happens in your bar this week is that interesting, thank Dominga.

*-*

“All right, you shiftless, daydreaming children! We have a tide to catch and a job to do on the other end of this ocean! GET MOVING!”

Most people, seeing the crew for the first time, assume that Castiglione is the captain of the _Gutter Rat._ He's the oldest of the crew by a decade and a half at least, larger than anyone of the crew except Lukas, and is constantly barking orders in a voice seasoned by smoke. Very few would pay much attention to the skinny man off to the side, singing under his breath and tying knots in fine rope. It would be hard to imagine that man, who laughs at his own jokes and never has the coin to pay for his drinks is Spider, the man with a six figure bounty good anywhere in three seas.

Nonetheless, he is. Spider, one of the most famous pirates on the Grey Sea, is sitting atop the railing near the helm. He's playing with his silk ropes as his First Mate makes sure the ship actually sets sail. He hardly inspires confidence, but what can you say? The _Gutter Rat's_ reputation speaks for itself.

“Captain, if you'd ever let me put the crew back in line, it wouldn't take us so long to set sail. Do you really want to be leaving port at sunset?”

“Put the crew in line? Uh, I tell you to lay off for _your_ safety. You want to try giving Elektra ten lashes? You do it off my ship, because she'll kill us all and light the boat on fire. We'll be fine; we do our best fighting at night anyway.”

Castiglione grunts and turns away, focusing his glare on a cloud with an intensity normally reserved for targets of an ages-old feud. Nonetheless, they make it out of port before sundown.

As they round the end of the island leaving the harbor, they encounter the Sandman, ready and waiting with its full compliment readying weapons and all cannons primed.

Tiye Wan swears in his first tongue. “I really hoped that was a bluff.”

Young Murdock taps him once on the shoulder. “What? What's going on out there?”

“Well, you remember those assholes at the bar?”

“Damn. I hoped that was a bluff, too.”

For just a moment, all eyes turn to the captain. They've all thrown in their lots with him, even though several of them were perfectly successful on their own. Spider's not much of a captain, honestly, not much of a leader, but he has a way of pulling together when things go wrong (which is most of the time, really) that makes him someone you want on your side.

Spider looks at the Sandman, glances back at the town, and chews his lip.

“Run the colors. We can take these jerks.”

Elektra's laughing as she runs up the flags, a deep sound like you'd expect a panther to make. There's a special rig to put them all up with the yank of a single rope and there's one for each member of the crew, all flying side by side above the sails.

*-*

Less than an hour later and the Sandman is at the bottom of the ocean just outside the harbor, most of the crew having evacuated happy to be breathing. The Gutter Rat is fine, just a singed sail and a few bullets for Spector, the ship's “medic” to dig out.

Young Murdock, knuckles bloody and missing his bandanna, smiles wide and stares at nothing as he raises a cup of cheap grog.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I propose a toast.”

He reaches for the outer railing and finding it, points his body in the direction of the sunken Sandman.

“To my father.”

He pours the drink over the side.

**Author's Note:**

> Seen originally on my Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/malevolentcosmicentity, where I will post new work first due to the fire-and-forget format. It's also how I handle most of my online interaction, so if you like my work, feel free to drop me a line there.


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